Unmanned aerial vehicle authorization and geofence envelope determination

ABSTRACT

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for unmanned aerial vehicle authorization and geofence envelope determination. One of the methods includes maintaining, in a datastore, flight operation information associated with UAV flight operations. A request to generate a risk assessment report is received, with the request including aspects of a UAV flight operation, with the risk assessment report describing risk associated with each aspect. Flight operation information accessed from the datastore is analyzed. Performance characteristics are determined based at least in part on the analysis of the flight operation information, with the performance characteristics including information that can inform, or affect, a safe or functional UAV flight operation. Risk assessments for each aspects in the request are determined using the performance characteristics. The risk assessment report is generated using the determined risk assessments.

BACKGROUND

The regulatory hurdles that an organization (e.g., governmentalorganization, or company) need to overcome to obtain authorization tofly unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) can be great. An organizationintending to fly a UAV over populated regions typically has to show thattheir UAV and flight operation are airworthy and safe.

SUMMARY

In general, one innovative aspect of the subject matter described inthis specification can be embodied in methods that include the actionsof maintaining in a data store, by a computer system comprisinghardware, flight operation information associated with a plurality ofUnmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) flight operations; receiving, at thecomputer system, a request to generate a risk assessment report, therequest including one or more aspects of a UAV flight operation, whereinthe risk assessment report describes risk associated with each aspect;analyzing flight operation information accessed from the data store;determining by the computer system, based at least in part on theanalysis of the flight operation information, performancecharacteristics for each aspect in the request, wherein the performancecharacteristics include information that can inform, or affect, a safeor functional UAV flight operation; determining by the computer system,using the performance characteristics, risk assessments for each aspectin the request; and generating by the computer system the riskassessment report using the determined risk assessments.

Particular embodiments of the subject matter described can beimplemented so as to realize one or more of the following advantages. Asystem can automatically gather information associated with one or moreunmanned air vehicles (UAVs), and generate, optionally without userinteraction, a flight authorization request to provide to a regulatoryagency, e.g., the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The system canstore information describing UAVs, particular components included ineach UAV (e.g., electrical components, static mechanical components,actuators, engines, props, sensors, batteries, parachutes, landing gear,antennas, etc.), and/or UAV operators, and determine risk information.For instance, the system can rapidly determine that a particularcomponent has experienced errors in the past (e.g., where the numberand/or type of errors exceed a threshold), and based at least in part onsuch determination, should not be included in a flight operation due tothe increased possibility of a potential failure. Additionally, a cloudsystem can store locations of flying UAVs and determine geofenceenvelopes, and flight paths, to allocate to flying UAVs in a quick,accurate, and efficient manner. Therefore, if a UAV experiences a flightcritical error (e.g., a one that may impact safety issues), the cloudsystem can determine an updated geofence envelope, or flight path, toprovide to the UAV.

The details of one or more embodiments of the subject matter of thisspecification are set forth in the accompanying drawings and thedescription below. Other features, aspects, and advantages of thesubject matter will become apparent from the description, the drawings,and the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an example Unmanned Aerial Vehicle(UAV) processing system.

FIG. 2 illustrates a user interface that includes an example reportidentifying flight information.

FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart of an example process for generating arisk assessment report.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example process for generating an authorizationrequest report.

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of an example cloud system.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an example process for managing geofenceenvelopes allocated to UAVs.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example process for contingency prediction by aUAV.

FIG. 8 is an illustration of a user interface identifying a determinedcontingency prediction and an updated flight path.

Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicatelike elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Among other features, this specification describes a system toautomatically determine risks associated with an unmanned vehicle'sflight operation (e.g., pilot information, flight pattern, contingencyplans, flight worthiness of the vehicle), and generate an authorizationrequest to provide to an organization, e.g., a regulatory agency such asthe Federal Aviation Administration, for approval of the flightoperation. Contingency plans can be pre-programmed flight plans orbehaviors that the UAV can execute autonomously in the event of anoff-nominal detected contingency condition, e.g., flight error orfailure. The unmanned vehicles may include unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs), such as drones, unpiloted aerial vehicles, remotely pilotedaircraft, unmanned aircraft systems, any aircraft covered under Circular328 AN/190 classified by the International Civil Aviation Organization,and so on. UAV will be used throughout this specification, however itshould be understood that UAV means any unmanned vehicle as definedabove and elsewhere in this specification, unless the context indicatesotherwise.

Specifically, the system can obtain, and store, operator data (e.g.,pilot information such as hours flown, trainings completed and licensesobtained), UAV configuration information for particular UAVs (e.g.,information identifying components of each UAV, such as specificcomponents, associated software versions, and/or weights of thecomponents, optionally along with flight information, such ascontingency plans), operational information (e.g., information gleanedor collected after respective flights or maintenances of particularUAVs), and/or mission information (e.g., information generated by flightcritical systems or payload systems included in the UAV, such as video,images, signals intelligence, and so on).

The system can determine performance characteristics of the aboveinformation, which can include any information that can inform, oraffect, a safe, or functional, UAV flight operation. Using some or allof the determined performance characteristics, the system can determinedegradation or potential degradation of components in a UAV (e.g., sincea last maintenance), flight totals and mean (or other central tendency)flight time of pilots, and so on. The system utilizes these performancecharacteristics to determine risk assessments of particular UAVs,components included in UAVs (e.g., to identify a faulty type ofcomponent before flight failure can occur), and/or particular operators(e.g., pilots).

The system can receive, or generate, flight operation informationidentifying a requested UAV operation (e.g., flight path, type of UAV,components included in the UAV, and/or operators piloting the UAV), andgenerate an authorization request to provide to an organization, e.g., aregulatory agency, such as the FAA. The above can be accomplishedquickly and accurately, increasing the ability of an organization toquickly plan and submit planned flight operations for authorization.Additionally, the approving agency can have greater faith that thesubmitted information is accurate and includes no errors, since it isbased on empirical historical information.

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an example Unmanned Aerial Vehicle(UAV) processing system 100. The UAV processing system 100 can be asystem of one or more computers, or software executing on a system ofone or more computers, which is in communication with, or maintains, oneor more databases, e.g., databases 102-108, storing informationdescribing UAV flight operations and components. The UAV processingsystem 100 can analyze performance characteristics of information storedin the databases, and determine risk assessment information for use ingenerating authorization requests for desired flight operations.

The example UAV processing system 100 includes an analysis engine 110that determines performance characteristics of information included inone or more databases, e.g., databases 102-108. As described above,performance characters can include any information that can inform, oraffect, a safe, or functional, UAV flight operation. Optionally, theinformation stored in the databases 102-108 can be associated withmetadata describing a context of the stored information, e.g., adatabase storing information identifying a particular component (e.g., aunique serial number) can be associated with metadata describing UAVs itwas included in (e.g., unique UAV serial numbers), and so on.

The analysis engine 110 is in communication with an operator database102. The operator database 102 can store pilot information describingone or more UAV pilots. The pilot information can include a name and/orother identifier of each pilot, along with associated companies (e.g., acompany that hired the pilot for a flight operation). Additionally, theoperator database 102 can store a number of hours flown by each pilot(e.g., in a selectable period of time, or across his/her entire career),trainings completed and credentials or licenses obtained (e.g., aninstrument rating under the Instrument Flight Rules, particular class ofairman medical certificate, pilot proficiency events, an FAA UAVoperator certificate, and so on), simulation flight time of the pilot,and etc.

Along with information identifying pilots, the operator database 102 canmap each pilot to specific UAVs, models of UAVs, or types of UAVs (e.g.,propeller, rotor, jet, small, medium, large, military, civilian,reconnaissance, delivery, etc.) they have flown, or participated in aflight operation in a different capacity, e.g., as an observer.

The analysis engine 110 is in communication with an operational database104. The operational database 104 can store flight information, andmaintenance information, generated by particular UAVs during use, ormanually described/entered by maintenance personnel. Flight andmaintenance information can be obtained from one or more flight logsgenerated by UAVs (e.g., logs that identify continuously updatinginformation including UAV location, and particular events includingerrors generated during flight). Flight logs can include error logs,logs describing flight actions, sensor reading logs, autopilot logs, andso on.

For instance, operational information can include information associatedwith an inertial measurement unit (e.g., acceleration, gyration,magnetic readings, and vibration analysis). Operational information caninclude attitude and/or altitude (e.g., determined from barometricreadings, ground distance sensors, global positioning systems, etc.).Operational information can include velocity of the UAV, battery healthtracking (e.g., voltage, current, temperature), and/or flight path(e.g., position, altitude, airspeed velocity, ground velocity,orientation). Operational information can include identifications ofwarnings and errors, configuration changes made in-flight to UAVcomponents, execution of particular contingency plans, UAV state changes(e.g., on-ground, in-flight, landing), controller modes, and/or flighttime. The operational information can include communication information(e.g., strength of signals received from outside communication systemsincluding ground datalinks, data packet loss, transmission rates),thermal measurements (e.g., history of thermal cycles encountered,exceedance of thermal limits), and so on.

Optionally, the UAV processing system 100 can connect to a UAV, obtainoperational information from the UAV, and store the information in theoperational database 104, e.g., with associated metadata identifying theUAV. Optionally, the analysis engine 110 can obtain operationalinformation inputted, e.g., into a system in communication with the UAVprocessing system 100, by maintenance personnel. The operationalinformation can include written information describing the UAV, whichthe analysis engine 110 can obtain and parse to identify UAV operationalinformation.

The analysis engine 110 is in communication with a UAV configurationdatabase 106. The UAV configuration database 106 stores informationdescribing components (e.g., hardware and software) included inparticular UAVs, and actions that users (e.g., pilots) took whileoperating the particular UAVs.

For instance, the UAV configuration database 106 can store informationidentifying specific hardware in use (e.g., serial numbers, types ofhardware, physical configuration of the hardware, flight hours which canbe similar to a HOBBS meter, and batteries used including the number ofcharge/discharge cycles undergone). The UAV configuration database 106can store one or more versions of software included in the UAV,including any issuer-recoverable methods to sign safety-criticalhardware and software (e.g., identifying the hardware or software asCertified, Trusted, or neither). The UAV configuration database 106 canstore standard operation procedures of the UAV, total system weight orweight of particular hardware, and/or software configuration information(e.g., calibration data, configuration settings such as modes ofoperation).

The analysis engine 110 is in communication with a UAV missioninformation database 108. The UAV mission information database 108stores information generated during missions of particular UAVs,including data generated by flight critical modules (e.g., datalinkinformation, global positioning system information), payload modulesincluded in the UAVs (e.g., cameras, sensors), and/or modules includedoutside of the UAV (e.g., ground sensors).

The UAV mission information database 108 can store video, still images,signals intelligence, range measurements, electromagnetic measurements,determined atmospheric pressure, gravitational measurements, radarmeasurements, data transmitted to or from the UAV, radio frequencyidentification (RFID) readings, atmospheric composition, gas typereadings, meteorological measurements, sunlight radiance, data onphysical substances (e.g., transported, received, captured, dropped),data on physical packages (e.g., transported, received, captured,dropped), and so on. The UAV mission information database 108 canassociate the stored information with metadata, including tags, notes,geotags, aircraft state information, and/or sensor states.

The analysis engine 110 can obtain information from the databases102-108, and generate performance characteristics related to operationof the UAV. The databases 102-108 can optionally be associated with eachother, to link information from one database to a different database. Inthis way, the analysis engine 110 can obtain, for example, eachcomponent that was ever included in a particular UAV, or each componentthat experienced an error that was ever included in a particular UAV.Optionally, the databases 102-108 may be combined into fewer databasesor configured as a larger number of databases.

By way of illustrative example, the analysis engine 110 can determinethe battery health of batteries included in a particular UAV. Theanalysis engine 110 can obtain voltage, current draw, and temperatureinformation, of batteries included in the particular UAV over a periodof time (e.g., a most recent flight operation, or flight operations of aselectable period of time). The analysis engine 110 can then determinean estimate of the health of the batteries, which the analysis engine110 can utilize to inform a determination regarding maximum UAV flightpower (e.g., maximum power that can be extracted from the batteries),endurance (e.g., longevity of the batteries), and probability of failure(e.g., likelihood that the batteries will fail). The analysis engine 110can effect these determinations with information identifying averageestimated charge/recycle cycles available to the battery, and so on.

The analysis engine 110 can perform a vehicle vibration analysis, todetermine whether issues with the UAV airframe exist. The non-exhaustiveexample list of issues includes, unbalanced propellers or rotorsspinning, structural modes of the UAV aircraft, loose structuralelements, controller induced modes (e.g., control surfaces moving insuch a way as to cause vibrations in the UAV aircraft as a result offollowing instructors from the controller), issues with the inertialmeasurement sensors, and so on. The analysis engine 110 may identifyadditional, fewer, or different UAV airframe issues.

The analysis engine 110 can then generate a vibration profile ofspecific UAVs (e.g., the analysis engine 110 can run simulations usingthe UAV aircraft or airframe type or the specific UAV model, and sensorinformation including acceleration, gyration, magnetometer, and othersensor data). The analysis engine 110 can track particular UAVs over aperiod of time, to identify any changes in vibration profiles. Theanalysis engine 110 can utilize the changes to determine possible causalfactors. For example, if the vibration profiles shows an increase invibrations above a certain airspeed, the analysis engine 110 candetermine that there is a probability that the aircraft is exciting astructural mode. Optionally, the analysis engine 110 can associate aparticular UAV with UAVs that include similar components and/or are of asimilar UAV airframe or model type. In this way, the analysis engine 110can determine that a particular UAV might exhibit vibrationcharacteristics similar to other UAVs.

The analysis engine 110 can determine whether breach of flightauthorizations occurred. A flight authorization can identify specificflight paths, airspaces, speed, weight, maneuvers, and/or flightduration at a given location, of a UAV. Thus, the analysis engine 110can determine violations of constraints and restrictions identified in aflight authorization for a particular UAV, e.g., from locations of theUAV, operator actions, airspeeds of the UAV, weights of componentsincluded in the UAV, and so on. Additionally, the analysis engine 110can determine whether operator actions caused a breach of a flightauthorization, and use this determination to inform a risk assessment ofthe operator, e.g., described below.

Furthermore, the analysis engine 110 can aggregate performancecharacteristics, to identify performance characteristics associated withspecific components, or types of components, included in multiple UAVs,performance characteristics of specific operators, classes of UAVs,models of UAVs, types of UAV airframes, and operating environments(e.g., temperature, humidity, wind velocity, or other weather relatedparameters) experienced by UAVs. As an example of operatingenvironments, the analysis engine 110 can determine that particularcomponents are degraded (e.g., corroded) after being in heavy rain oroperating above a certain air temperature for more than a certainthreshold of time. To effect this determination, the analysis engine 110can obtain maintenance information after UAV flights, and determine thatthe weather is associated with the damage.

In addition to the above, the analysis engine 110 can determinesummarizing performance characteristics, including flight totals andflight times of specific UAVs, specific components, and/or operators.The analysis engine 110 can determine a measure of central tendency(e.g., mean, median, mode, geometric mean, harmonic mean, weighted mean,truncated mean, midrange mean, trimean, winsorized mean, etc.) betweenfailures of UAVs, specific components, and operators. As describedabove, the analysis engine 110 can determine performance degradation ofspecific components, e.g., batteries, and of a UAV (e.g., fromperformance degradation of components included in the UAV, andperformance degradation of the UAV airframe).

The UAV processing system 100 includes a report generation engine 120that can generate reports 122 using information determined by theanalysis engine 110. A user can provide a request to the UAV processingsystem 100, or to a system in communication with the UAV processingsystem 100, specifying information he/she is interested in. Forinstance, the user can specify that he/she is interested in performancedegradation information of a particular UAV. Additionally, the user canspecify that he/she is interested in a number of flights that one ormore UAVs have taken. The request for information can be limited to aspecific time period (e.g., obtained for flights that have occurred inthe last 12 months or between 1-3 years ago). The UAV processing system100 can then obtain and process the information, and generate a report122, e.g., a user interface, identifying the information. Optionally,the report generation engine 120 can apply privacy restrictions toinformation determined by the analysis engine 120 (e.g., only usersassociated with a company that performed a specific flight, or that usesa specific UAV, can obtain information related to the specific flight orspecific UAV). Access to the report generation engine 120 can beprovided through one or more application programming interface (API)functional calls, optionally with each functional call incurring aparticular cost to be paid by a user.

For instance, FIG. 2 illustrates a user interface 200 that includes anexample report identifying example flight information. In the userinterface 200, a user has selected an option to display informationassociated with “Vehicles” 202. The user interface 202 thereforeincludes information related to UAV flights, e.g., “Vehicle FlightTotals” 204. The information includes names associated with various UAVs206, e.g., “F-450”, “MK-Okto”, and so on. Optionally, unique serialnumbers or other identifier types may be provided for each of the listedUAVs. The information further includes associated flight totals andflight times 210 of the UAVs, e.g., “F-450” had “13” flights with atotal flight time of “79” hours.

The report generation engine 120 can generate risk assessments reports122 regarding particular aspects of a flight operation, e.g., inresponse to receiving a request identifying the particular aspects. Arisk assessment report 122 can include determinations of values of risk,e.g., qualitative or quantitative values (e.g., a risk rating on anumerical scale (e.g., 1-10), a risk grade (e.g., on a scale of A-F,where A is the safest and F is the riskiest), a probability of a safetyrelated error occurring, a probability of a non-safety, mission relatederror occurring, a textual description of the cause of the risk and thepossible outcomes, etc.). For instance, a risk assessment report 122 caninclude an assessment of the risk of flying a particular UAV, using aparticular component, using a particular operator, using a particularoperator to fly a particular UAV, and so on. Additionally, a riskassessment report 122 can identify an overall risk assessment of anentire flight operation, e.g., a particular UAV, particular componentsor class of components to include in the particular UAV, particularoperators to implement the flight operation, and so on.

To generate a risk assessment report 122 regarding one or more aspectsof a flight operation, the report generation engine 120 can obtaininformation, e.g., from the databases 102-108, and determinedperformance characteristics, related to the aspects. For example, if auser identifies that he/she wants a risk assessment report 122 regardinga particular component, the report generation engine 120 can identifyperformance characteristics of the particular component across differentflight operations that have used the particular component.

The report generation engine 120 can determine an overall riskassessment indicator of the requested aspects. The indicator can includea value, e.g., within a particular value range, a letter, e.g., within aparticular range of letters, and/or a percentage, e.g., a percentagewithin a particular percentage range. To determine the overall riskassessment indicator, the report generation engine 120 can determineperformance characteristics of the aspects identified in a request, anddetermine a risk assessment score of the performance characteristics.The report generation engine 120 can then combine/aggregate the riskassessment scores according to one or more methods. For instance, thereport generation engine 120 can obtain information identifying weightsto apply to each risk assessment score, and compute a sum of theweighted risk assessment scores. The weights can be based on, forinstance, an importance of the aspect to a safe flight operation.Additionally, the report generation engine 120 can combine the riskassessment scores utilizing a machine-learning model, which can betrained on information describing UAV flight operations with associatedflight errors, and failures, of flight operations.

The overall risk assessment indicator can indicate the likelihood ofrisk to a flight operation, e.g., likelihood of success of theoperation, or the likelihood of risk of utilizing particular components,or operators, identified in the request. For instance, in a riskassessment report 122 regarding an entire flight operation, the reportgeneration engine 120 can determine a likelihood of the flight operationbeing successfully completed without error or incident. For example, todetermine a likelihood of success, the report generation engine 120 canobtain a vibration analysis of a UAV to be used in the flight operation,and determine whether the vibration analysis indicates a high likelihoodof UAV failure. In another example, the report generation engine 120 canobtain information identifying contingency plans of the UAV, anddetermine whether the UAV has contingency plans appropriate for theparticular flight path identified in the flight operation. For instance,if the UAV will be traveling over water, the report generation engine120 can determine whether the UAV stores a contingency plan associatedwith failure over water.

The report generation engine 120 can generate authorization requestreports 122 to be provided to a recipient 140, such as an authorizingagency, e.g., a governmental agency, which includes information relevantto obtaining authorization for a flight operation. The report generationengine 120 can receive, e.g., from a user request, an identification ofan authorization report 122 to generate that is associated with aparticular authorizing agency. For instance, the report generationengine 120 can generate an authorization request report 122 withinformation for an FAA Certificate of Authorization. The reportgeneration engine 122 can obtain information identifying types ofinformation to include in the requested report 122, and generate thereport 122 by filling in the respective types of information.

For instance, the report generation engine 120 can receive informationidentifying a flight operation, e.g., specific UAV, specific operators,specific components, flight path including whether the flight will occurover populated areas, and so on. The report generation engine 120 canthen obtain risk assessment information associated with the flightoperation, e.g., as described above, and include the risk assessment inthe authorization request report 122. For instance, if the authorizationrequest report 122 includes information identifying operators, thereport generation engine 120 can include risk assessment informationidentifying each pilot's license information, number of UAV flights in aparticular time period, whether they previously breached flightauthorization, their record performing contingency plans, and so on.

Alternatively, or in addition, the report generation engine 120 canreceive information identifying a flight operation (e.g., specific UAV,specific operators, specific components, flight path), and obtainperformance characteristics associated with the flight operation. Inthis way, the report generation engine 120 can provide less analysis ofthe information included in the generated authorization request report.For instance, performance characteristics can identify licenses and/orcertificates obtained by an operator, number of flights flown, but notprovide risk assessment information including flight errors or failuresthat can be attributed to the operator.

The generated authorization request report 122 can then be provided to arecipient 140, such as an authorization agency, for approval of theflight operation. Optionally, the report generation engine 120 canaccess a system controlled by, or in communication with, the recipient140, and directly provide the authorization request report 122 to therecipient 140 (e.g., over a network to the recipient system).

The UAV processing system 100 optionally includes a permission controlengine 130, which can receive an authorization for a flight operationgranted by an authorization agency, and generate flight constraintinformation 132 based off the granted authorization, to be provided to aUAV 134 associated with the flight operation. The permission controlengine 130 can receive information identifying the flight operation, andgenerate constraints associated with the flight operation. For instance,the flight operation can identify that the UAV is to be limited to aparticular two-dimension or three-dimensional geofence envelope, e.g., avirtual perimeter for a real world geographic area. The permissioncontrol engine 130 can generate instructions to be provided to the UAV134, e.g., to the UAV autopilot, identifying the geofence envelope.Providing a geofence envelope to a UAV 134, is described below, withreference to FIG. 6. Additional constraints can include airspeed limits,altitude limits, weather limits, time of day limits, number of operatorhour limits, and other general configuration constraints of the UAV 134,e.g., specific payload modules can be only be activated at particulartimes or in particular areas.

FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart of an example process 300 for generatinga risk assessment report. For convenience, the process 300 will bedescribed as being performed by a system of one or more computers, e.g.,the UAV processing system 100.

The system receives a request to generate a risk assessment report(block 302). The request can be received from a user device, andidentify particular aspects of a flight operation (such as one or moreflight operation aspects discussed herein) that the user desires toobtain risk valuations about. For instance, the user can identify thathe/she wishes to obtain risk assessment information regarding aparticular operator, e.g., pilot.

The system obtains performance characteristics associated with therequest (block 304). As described above, with reference to FIG. 1, theexample system can determine performance characteristics associated withsome or all aspects of a flight operation, including operators,components included in a UAV, a particular UAV or type of UAV, and soon.

The system obtains performance characteristics that are associated withthe aspects identified in the received request. For example, the requestcan identify a particular model of a payload module, e.g., a particularmodel of an infra-red camera. The system can obtain informationidentifying performance characteristics of the model included acrosssome or all UAV flight operations. In this way, the system can determinewhether the infra-red camera is prone to particular errors or failures,e.g., communication failures, failures with regards to weather patterns,and so on. Optionally, the request and/or obtained information can belimited to a particular version of a model and/or to a specific timeperiod (e.g., information obtained from flights which occurred in thelast 3 years or other time period or time range).

In another example, the request can identify a particular type of UAVairframe, and payload modules to be included in the UAV. The system canobtain performance characteristics of the particular type of UAVairframe (e.g., vibration analyses of the airframe in all flightoperations), and performance characteristics of the payload modules.

After obtaining performance characteristics associated with the request,the system determines an overall risk assessment score (block 306). Thesystem determines an overall risk assessment score from the risk of eachobtained performance characteristic associated with the request.

The system, optionally, can determine a risk assessment score for eachaspect identified in the request, and then determine an overall riskassessment score based on the individual risk assessment scores. Forexample, if the request identifies a particular operator, the system candetermine a flight operation failure rate, e.g., a percentage of totalUAV flights that resulted in failure that can be attributed to theoperator. The flight operation failure rate can be determined byobtaining information identifying a total number of UAV flightoperations that resulted in failure when the operator was flying theUAV, and modifying the total number to remove flight operation failuresattributed to UAV component failures (e.g., flight critical modulefailures), weather information (e.g., heavy rains, lightning strikes),and so on. The system can then obtain information identifying an averageflight operation failure rate, and compare the operator's failure rateagainst the average to determine a risk assessment score. The failuresmay optionally be categorized by the system as mission failures or assafety related failures.

In another example, if the request identified a particular UAV, thesystem can obtain information describing the UAV (e.g., componentsincluded in the UAV, airframe type). The system can then obtain flightoperation failures that included the particular UAV, along with riskinformation associated with the UAV, e.g., vibration analysis, batteryhealth, risk assessments of components, and so on. The system can thendetermine a risk assessment score based on the obtained information. Forinstance, the system can determine whether the UAV had contingency plansassociated with the flight operation failures, e.g., whether theautopilot controlling the UAV could have avoided failure if it had acontingency plan. If the UAV did not have contingency plans associatedwith the flight operation failure, the system can assign a higher riskassessment score, since the UAV could have avoided failure upon asoftware update, e.g., to its autopilot. Similarly, the system canassign a high risk assessment score if the battery health is nearing endof life, and/or if the vibration analysis of the UAV indicates there arestructural problems, and/or if the UAV is associated with flightoperation failures. In some implementations, the system can modify theflight operation failure information by determining whether the flightoperation failures were attributed to operator error, e.g., due tobreach of flight authorization by the operator, and so on. If the systemdetermines that the failures can be attributed to operator error, thesystem can ignore the failures for the purposes of determining a riskassessment score. The system can also determine whether the operatorassociated with the operator error has a low risk assessment score,e.g., whether the operator is generally a safe pilot. Upon a positivedetermination, the system can rate the UAV risk assessment score higherby assuming that the UAV is difficult to control, or is associated withother errors not easily captured, e.g., in error logs, flight logs, andso on.

Thus, the system can determine a risk assessment score for each aspectidentified in the request using information even tangentially related tothe particular aspect. In this way, the system can determine a reliablerisk assessment of each aspect.

The system then combines the risk assessment scores to determine a totalrisk assessment score. As described above, with reference to FIG. 1, thesystem can obtain weights associated with each aspect, and combine theweighted aspects. For instance, the system can obtain informationidentifying that a payload module is associated with a low weight, sincethe payload module will likely not affect flight critical systems.Similarly, the system can obtain information identifying that anoperator is associated with a higher weight, since an operator controlsthe UAV and components in the UAV. The system can then combine theweighted risk assessment scores to arrive at an overall risk assessmentscore.

Optionally, the system can receive a flight authorization level from theuser identifying a relative difficulty, or relative riskiness, of aflight operation. For instance, the user can identify that the UAV willbe operating over populated areas. The system can determine thatoperating over populated areas or with a population density above aspecified threshold is associated with a high risk.

The system can modify the risk assessment score depending on theoptionally received flight authorization level. For instance, if aflight operation is associated with a low risk, the system can increasethe decrease the overall risk assessment score (where the higher therisk the higher the risk assessment score). However, if a flightoperation is associated with a high risk, e.g., operation over populatedareas, the system can increase the overall risk assessment score. Thesystem can increase the risk assessment score by increasing weightsassociated with flight failures that result in a UAV landingunintentionally in the populated areas. For instance, if the systemdetermines that a UAV includes a particular component, e.g., a motor,that is known to fail in 1% of flight operations, the system canincrease the weight associated with the motor risk assessment score.

The system generates a risk assessment report to provide to the user(block 308). The system generates a document, e.g., a web page, file, ortext document, that includes the determined overall risk assessmentscore. The report can include risk assessment scores of each aspectidentified in the request, and specific information relevant to thereport.

For instance, if the system determines that a particular UAV wasinvolved in a higher than average percentage of flight operations thatresulted in an operational error, the system can identify the specificpercentage. The system can also identify whether the operational errorresulted from operator error, from a particular componentmalfunctioning, and so on.

The risk assessment score can be received by an insurance company, andused to insure a particular UAV, particular operator, or entire flightoperation.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example process 400 for generating anauthorization request report. The example process 400 will be describedas being performed by a system of one or more computers, e.g., the UAVprocessing system 100.

The system receives a request to generate an authorization requestreport (block 402). A user can provide a request identifying a flightoperation, e.g., a particular UAV including configuration information ofcomponents in the particular UAV, particular operators, contingencybehaviors, a particular flight path such as over-flight areas, and soon. Additionally, the request can include an identification of theparticular authorization request type the user wants to generate. Forexample, the user can indicate that he/she wishes to generate aCertificate of Authorization from the FAA.

The system obtains performance characteristics and/or risk assessmentinformation associated with the request (block 404).

The system can obtain performance characteristics (e.g., one or more ofthe performance characteristics described herein), or more complicatedrisk assessment information, to include in the authorization requestreport. That is, the system can optionally include more fundamentalinformation on, for example, an operator (e.g., instrument ratingobtained by the operator, number of flights flown, certificatesobtained, etc.), or determine more complicated information to include,e.g., number of flight operations that resulted in an error or failurewhich can be attributed to the operator. The user can select whetherhe/she wants the authorization request report to include the performancecharacteristics, or a more detailed risk assessment report. For example,to obtain an authorization request report for a flight operation overprivate unpopulated land, the user might select only performancecharacteristics to preserve the privacy of the operator. However, forflight operations over populated areas, the user can include riskassessment information.

The system generates a flight authorization request report (block 406).The system generates a report, e.g., a document that includes types ofinformation associated with a type of authorization request identifiedin the request. The system provides performance characteristics and/orrisk assessment information associated a given type of information inthe report, optionally in easy to understand human readable formats. Forexample, the authorization request report can include the followingtypes of requested information, UAV flight performance, e.g., over aperiod of time, UAV flight heritage, contingency behaviors, UAV flighttermination systems, and UAV airspace deconfliction abilities, types ofcomponents to be used in the flight operation, and so on.

The system can store information identifying text or phrases to utilizewhen generating the flight authorization request report. For instance,the system can obtain information identifying that for an operator, thesystem is to include risk assessment information in a particular text,e.g., “The operator has obtained the following licenses:”. The systemcan then include the performance characteristics and/or risk assessmentinformation in the text.

The system can optionally include an overall risk assessment score forthe flight operation, and risk assessment scores for each aspect of theflight operation.

Cloud System

During flight operations of several UAVs, risks associated with UAVsentering the same airspace can be encountered absent a system that cancoordinate and have knowledge of each UAV's flight operation or presentlocation. A cloud system, e.g., a system of one or more computers, incommunication with multiple UAVs over a wireless channel and/or withassociated ground stations, can receive requests, from UAVs (and/orassociated ground stations) for specific geofences, e.g.,two-dimensional or three-dimensional geofences, and approve or deny therequests based on previously allocated geofences. As described above, ageofence envelope is a virtual perimeter for a real-world geographicarea. After the cloud system provides approval for a specific geofenceenvelope, the cloud system can allocate the geofence envelope to theUAV. The UAV can then receive information identifying the approval, andlimit its location movements to the specifically approved geofenceenvelope. In some implementations, if a UAV operator moves the UAVoutside of the geofence envelope, the UAV can override control andautomatically move the UAV back into compliance. Furthermore, optionallythe cloud system can receive a flight path associated with a UAV, andupon determining that the flight path would violate previously allocatedgeofences, determine an updated recommended flight path that would notviolate allocated geofences. The updated recommended flight path caninclude the same waypoints identified in the original flight path, orone or more of the waypoints.

As an example, a UAV can request an updated geofence envelope as theresult of a flight operational contingency due to one or more flightoperation errors or failures.

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of an example cloud system 500. Thecloud system 500 is in communication with UAVs, e.g., UAV A-N 502A-502N,and one or more regulatory authorities 520, e.g., the Federal AviationAdministration. Optionally, the cloud system 500 is in communicationwith one or more ground stations associated with one or more of the UAVsand can receive instructions or information and provide instructions andinformation from such ground stations. The ground stations may includeoperator (e.g., pilot) terminals via which the operator and cloud systemmay interact. For example, the operator terminals may present onterminal displays user interfaces configured to provide information andinstructions to the operator and/or to receive information andinstructions from the operator.

The cloud system 500 stores, and maintains, flight operation informationassociated with the UAVs 502A-N. Flight operation information includesconfiguration information of each UAV, flight mission and planned flightpath, operator information (e.g., obtained licenses), it's precisethree-dimensional location in space, velocity information, UAV status(e.g., health of components included in the UAV), contingency plans, andso on.

Prior to a particular UAV flying, the cloud system 500 can obtaininformation identifying the particular UAV's flight operation, includingan intended geofence envelope. A geofence envelope engine 510, includedin the cloud system 500, can approve or deny the intended geofenceenvelope, based on prior allocated geofence envelopes that will be usedby UAVs during a flight time of the particular UAV.

Furthermore, the geofence envelope engine 510 can rapidly approve a newgeofence envelope for a UAV already in flight, and provide approval upondetermining that the new geofence envelope has not been allocated. A UAVcan request a new geofence envelope upon determining that one or morecontingency situations have occurred. For instance, the UAV candetermine that another UAV is violating its airspace or geofenceenvelope. In another example, the UAV can determine that it lackssufficient fuel to complete its mission, and needs to immediately take adifferent path to return to base, e.g., a location configured to accepta landing UAV, such as the UAV's point of takeoff. Examples ofpredicting a contingency are described below, with reference to FIG. 7.

A particular UAV 502A can attempt to provide a request to the cloudsystem 500, but be unable to communicate with the cloud system 500,e.g., due to interference, failure of a particular datalink, and so on.The particular UAV 502A, can optionally communicate with another UAV502N that can relay the request to the cloud system 500.

Optionally, the cloud system 500 can provide requests 522 identifyinggeofence envelopes, determined by the geofence envelope engine 510, forapproval by a regulatory authority 520, and obtain a response 524. Therequest 522 can further identify contingencies experienced by a UAV, andpotential risks associated with a flight operation failure, e.g.,described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 3.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an example process 600 for managing geofenceenvelopes allocated to UAVs. For convenience, the process 600 will bedescribed as being performed by a system of one or more computers, e.g.,the cloud system 500.

The system receives a request for approval of a geofence envelope from aUAV (block 602) or associated ground station. A UAV, e.g., a presentlyflying UAV, or a UAV not yet in flight, can request approval of itsflight path by identifying a specific geofence envelope that comportswith the flight path. The UAV (or associated ground station) canidentify that it includes hardware, or software, to enforce an approvedgeofence envelope, e.g., through use of an autopilot. The request canfurther identify one or more waypoints, e.g., locations in space, thatthe UAV wishes to pass through.

As will be described below, with reference to FIG. 7, a UAV in flight(or associated ground station) can determine that it has to execute acontingency plan, e.g., due to an error with the UAV. The UAV (orassociated ground station) can then provide a request to the systemidentifying an updated geofence envelope, and optionally informationidentifying the particular cause of the contingency plan.

The system determines whether the geofence envelope has been allocated,or interferes with another geofence envelope (block 604). As describedabove, with reference to FIG. 5, the system stores informationdescribing UAVs in flight, including geofence envelopes that have beenpreviously approved and allocated by the system, or an outside system incommunication with the system.

The system determines whether the requested geofence envelope interfereswith any previously allocated geofence envelope. The system can effectthis determination by comparing the space identified by the allocatedgeofence envelopes to the space identified by the requested geofenceenvelope. Upon a positive determination that the requested geofenceenvelope interferes with an allocated geofence envelope, the system candeny the request. Upon a negative determination, the system can approvethe request, or optionally provide the request for approval by aregulatory authority, e.g., the Federal Aviation Administration.

The system provides a response identifying approval or denial of therequest (block 606). As described above, the system can determinewhether to approve or deny allocation of the requested geofenceenvelope. If the system denies the requested geofence envelope, thesystem can optionally determine and provide an updated geofence envelopethat includes zero or more of the waypoints the requesting UAV wishes topass through.

If the system provides approval of the request to the requesting UAV (orassociated ground station), the requesting UAV can ensure that the UAVstays within the approved envelope. For instance, the UAV can restrictthe allowable flight maneuvers, and can lock out control of the UAV,e.g., by an operator, and return the UAV to within the geofenceenvelope, if the UAV violates the geofence envelope.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example process 700 for contingency prediction bya UAV. For convenience, the process 700 will be described as beingperformed by a UAV that includes one or more processors.

The UAV determines an estimate of onboard fuel (block 702). The UAV candetermine an estimate at particular predetermined or dynamicallydetermined sampling rates, e.g., every 10 minutes, every 15 minutes, orupon an occurrence of a particular event or combination of events, e.g.,after operating for a particular period of time, detecting a stronghead-wind, any updates to the UAV's flight path, and so on.

If the UAV uses batteries for power, the UAV can perform methodsincluding coulomb-counting, and estimating remaining charge from acurrently measured battery cell voltage.

If the UAV uses fuel for power, the UAV can perform methods includingmeasuring the mass or volume of fuel liquid remaining, e.g., through useof a sensor in a container that holds the fuel.

The UAV determines an estimate of fuel consumption (block 704). The UAVdetermines an estimate of fuel consumption, e.g., during a nominalcruising speed and UAV climb rate. To determine the estimate, the UAVcan perform an online machine-learning algorithm that learns the rate offuel consumption as the UAV is flying.

Example online machine-learning algorithms can create a functionalmapping from the cruise flight state, e.g., cruising flight speed andclimb rate, of the UAV, to the rate of fuel consumed, e.g., current drawat a particular voltage, or flow rate of liquid fuel to the UAV'sengine. Examples can include, least squares, neural networks, and so on.Additionally, the rate of fuel consumption can be estimated prior toflight of the UAV, e.g., from simulations or through fuel rateconsumption of similar aircrafts.

The UAV determines an estimate of prevailing wind speed and direction(block 706). The UAV can determine estimates of wind speed and directionthrough use of an online estimator.

An example online estimator obtains measurements of the freestream speedand direction vector using, for example, a pitot-static airspeed probe.The online estimator further obtains the ground track speed anddirection vector using location and navigation systems, e.g., globalposition system (GPS), and so on.

The example online estimator computes a difference between the twoobtained vectors, and obtains the prevailing wind speed and direction asthe difference.

Optionally, the UAV can communicate with an outside system, e.g., aground or satellite datalink, or a weather center, and obtainsinformation identifying real-time wind conditions.

The UAV obtains topological terrain data for the current flight path,and also for alternative flight paths (block 708). Terrain data caninclude elevation data, and can be stored by the UAV prior to takeoff,or received in response to the UAV providing a request to an outsidesystem, e.g., a ground datalink. Alternative flight paths can include,for instance, a flight path to return to a point of takeoff, a flightpath that excludes one or more waypoints, and so on. Optionally, The UAVcan determine to exclude one or more waypoints based on prevailing windspeed and direction. For instance, if one or more waypoints are in adirection against the prevailing wind, the UAV can determine to excludethose waypoints, and determine flight paths to waypoints that areparallel, or in the direction of, the wind direction.

The UAV determines a minimum safe flight altitude for the current flightpath. The UAV can effect this determination by computing a sum of theelevation data with a particular constant identifying a safe distanceabove the elevation data. The constant can optionally vary according toelevation data. For instance, a higher elevation, e.g., a mountain, caninclude particular weather affects associated with the mountain. The UAVcan therefore determine that the minimum safe flight altitude is greaterat the higher elevation.

Similarly, the UAV determines a minimum safe flight altitude for thealternative flight paths.

The UAV determines an amount of flight time remaining for the currentpath, and for each alternative flight path (block 710). The UAVdetermines the amount of flight time using the prevailing wind speed anddirection, along with the topological terrain data to determine anamount of time remaining for each of the flight paths. Since the UAV cancompute a total estimated distance the UAV has to travel for each flightpath, e.g., a total two-dimensional distance and a total ascent/descentfor each flight path, the UAV can estimate a time remaining given aparticular airspeed of the UAV, e.g., a nominal airspeed.

The UAV selects a flight path based on the determined time remaining foreach flight path (block 712).

The UAV computes a multiplication of the time remaining for each flightpath with the estimated rate of fuel consumption, e.g., described instep 704, to obtain an estimated amount of fuel required to completeeach flight path. The UAV then subtracts the resulting computation fromthe estimated fuel remaining in the UAV, e.g., described in step 702, toobtain an estimated amount of fuel remaining after the flight path.

If the UAV determines that the estimated amount of fuel remaining afterthe flight path is below a threshold, e.g., below zero, or below a safethreshold amount of fuel, the UAV can determine whether an alternativeflight path would be greater than the threshold.

The UAV can select an alternative flight path by determining all of thealternative flight paths that would allow the UAV to complete the flightpath with fuel greater than the threshold. The UAV can then select thealternative plan that includes most of the waypoints. Optionally, theUAV can select the alternative plan that includes the most importantwaypoints, e.g., from information identifying a hierarchy of waypoints.

If the UAV determines that the estimated amount of fuel remaining aftereach alternative flight path is below the threshold, the UAV candetermine an updated landing location. For instance, the UAV can obtaininformation identifying safe landing locations, e.g., from storedinformation, from a cloud system, e.g., cloud system 500, or from aregulatory authority, e.g., the Federal Aviation Administration.

The UAV can provide a request to the cloud system identifying an updatedflight path (e.g., selected from an alternative flight path, or a flightpath to a safe landing location), along with an updated geofenceenvelope for the updated flight path, and upon approval of the flightpath, travel to the landing location within the bounds of the updatedgeofence envelope. The UAV can also receive a recommended flight pathfrom the cloud system, e.g., as described above with reference to FIG.6.

The UAV can optionally provide information to an operator via anoperator terminal, e.g., to a pilot, identifying the determinedcontingency prediction and the updated flight path. The operator canthen implement the updated flight path, or the UAV can enforce theupdated flight path, e.g., updated geofence envelope.

FIG. 8 is an illustration of a user interface 800 identifying adetermined contingency prediction and an updated flight path. In theillustration, a UAV has determined that it is unable to complete theflight path 802, e.g., original flight path, and identifies informationassociated with the determination, e.g., headwind too strong for batterystate. The UAV provides information to an operator via an operatorterminal identifying an alternative flight path 804, e.g., “Recommendskipping hover point P1.” As described above, with reference to FIG. 7,the UAV can also enforce the alternative flight path, e.g., afterreceiving approval from a cloud system 500.

While, for illustrative purposes, the foregoing description and figuresmay refer to a UAV, techniques, systems, and processes disclosed hereinmay be applied to other vehicles, including other aerial vehicles and tomanned or unmanned land or sea vehicles. While certain computing andcommunication functions may be described as being performed by a UAV,such computing and communication functions may be performed by othersystems (e.g., a ground station or another aerial platform incommunication with the UAV).

For more details, see U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ entitled“DISTRIBUTED UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE ARCHITECTURE,” filed on May 11,2015, and corresponding to Attorney Docket No. UINN.010A; U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. ______, entitled “DISTRIBUTED UNMANNED AERIALVEHICLE ARCHITECTURE,” filed on May 11, 2015, and corresponding toAttorney Docket No. UINN.010A2; U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______,entitled “UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE AUTHORIZATION AND GEOFENCE ENVELOPEDETERMINATION,” filed on May 11, 2015, and corresponding to AttorneyDocket No. UINN.011A2; U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, entitled“UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE AUTHORIZATION AND GEOFENCE ENVELOPEDETERMINATION,” filed on May 11, 2015, and corresponding to AttorneyDocket No. UINN.011A3, each of which is incorporated by reference hereinin its entirety.

Each of the processes, methods, and algorithms described in thepreceding sections may be embodied in, and fully or partially automatedby, code modules executed by one or more computer systems or computerprocessors comprising computer hardware. The code modules (or “engines”)may be stored on any type of non-transitory computer-readable medium orcomputer storage device, such as hard drives, solid state memory,optical disc, and/or the like. The systems and modules may also betransmitted as generated data signals (for example, as part of a carrierwave or other analog or digital propagated signal) on a variety ofcomputer-readable transmission mediums, including wireless-based andwired/cable-based mediums, and may take a variety of forms (for example,as part of a single or multiplexed analog signal, or as multiplediscrete digital packets or frames). The processes and algorithms may beimplemented partially or wholly in application-specific circuitry. Theresults of the disclosed processes and process steps may be stored,persistently or otherwise, in any type of non-transitory computerstorage such as, for example, volatile or non-volatile storage.

In general, the terms “engine” and “module”, as used herein, refer tologic embodied in hardware or firmware, or to a collection of softwareinstructions, possibly having entry and exit points, written in aprogramming language, such as, for example, Java, Lua, C or C++. Asoftware module may be compiled and linked into an executable program,installed in a dynamic link library, or may be written in an interpretedprogramming language such as, for example, BASIC, Perl, or Python. Itwill be appreciated that software modules may be callable from othermodules or from themselves, and/or may be invoked in response todetected events or interrupts. Software modules configured for executionon computing devices may be provided on a computer readable medium, suchas a compact disc, digital video disc, flash drive, or any othertangible medium. Such software code may be stored, partially or fully,on a memory device of the executing computing device, such as the riskassessment system 100, for execution by the computing device. Softwareinstructions may be embedded in firmware, such as an EPROM. It will befurther appreciated that hardware modules may be comprised of connectedlogic units, such as gates and flip-flops, and/or may be comprised ofprogrammable units, such as programmable gate arrays or processors. Themodules described herein are preferably implemented as software modules,but may be represented in hardware or firmware. Generally, the modulesdescribed herein refer to logical modules that may be combined withother modules or divided into sub-modules despite their physicalorganization or storage.

User interfaces described herein are optionally presented (and userinstructions may be received) via a user computing device using abrowser, other network resource viewer, a dedicated application, orotherwise. Various features described or illustrated as being present indifferent embodiments or user interfaces may be combined into the sameembodiment or user interface. Commands and information received from theuser may be stored and acted on by the various systems disclosed hereinusing the processes disclosed herein. While the disclosure may referenceto a user hovering over, pointing at, or clicking on a particular item,other techniques may be used to detect an item of user interest. Forexample, the user may touch the item via a touch screen, or otherwiseindicate an interest. The user interfaces described herein may bepresented on a user terminal, such as a laptop computer, desktopcomputer, tablet computer, smart phone, virtual reality headset,augmented reality headset, or other terminal type. The user terminalsmay be associated with user input devices, such as touch screens,microphones, touch pads, keyboards, mice, styluses, cameras, etc. Whilethe foregoing discussion and figures may illustrate various types ofmenus, other types of menus may be used. For example, menus may beprovided via a drop down menu, a tool bar, a pop up menu, interactivevoice response system, or otherwise.

The various features and processes described above may be usedindependently of one another, or may be combined in various ways. Allpossible combinations and subcombinations are intended to fall withinthe scope of this disclosure. In addition, certain method or processblocks may be omitted in some implementations. The methods and processesdescribed herein are also not limited to any particular sequence, andthe blocks or states relating thereto can be performed in othersequences that are appropriate. For example, described blocks or statesmay be performed in an order other than that specifically disclosed, ormultiple blocks or states may be combined in a single block or state.The example blocks or states may be performed in serial, in parallel, orin some other manner. Blocks or states may be added to or removed fromthe disclosed example embodiments. The example systems and componentsdescribed herein may be configured differently than described. Forexample, elements may be added to, removed from, or rearranged comparedto the disclosed example embodiments.

Conditional language used herein, such as, among others, “can,” “could,”“might,” “may,” “for example,” and the like, unless specifically statedotherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, isgenerally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, whileother embodiments do not include, certain features, elements and/orsteps. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended toimply that features, elements and/or steps are in any way required forone or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarilyinclude logic for deciding, with or without author input or prompting,whether these features, elements and/or steps are included or are to beperformed in any particular embodiment. The terms “comprising,”“including,” “having,” and the like are synonymous and are usedinclusively, in an open-ended fashion, and do not exclude additionalelements, features, acts, operations, and so forth. Also, the term “or”is used in its inclusive sense (and not in its exclusive sense) so thatwhen used, for example, to connect a list of elements, the term “or”means one, some, or all of the elements in the list. Conjunctivelanguage such as the phrase “at least one of X, Y and Z,” unlessspecifically stated otherwise, is otherwise understood with the contextas used in general to convey that an item, term, etc. may be either X, Yor Z. Thus, such conjunctive language is not generally intended to implythat certain embodiments require at least one of X, at least one of Yand at least one of Z to each be present.

While certain example embodiments have been described, these embodimentshave been presented by way of example only, and are not intended tolimit the scope of the disclosure. Thus, nothing in the foregoingdescription is intended to imply that any particular element, feature,characteristic, step, module, or block is necessary or indispensable.Indeed, the novel methods and systems described herein may be embodiedin a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions,substitutions, and changes in the form of the methods and systemsdescribed herein may be made without departing from the spirit of theinventions disclosed herein. The accompanying claims and theirequivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as wouldfall within the scope and spirit of certain of the inventions disclosedherein.

Any process descriptions, elements, or blocks in the flow diagramsdescribed herein and/or depicted in the attached figures should beunderstood as potentially representing modules, segments, or portions ofcode which include one or more executable instructions for implementingspecific logical functions or steps in the process. Alternateimplementations are included within the scope of the embodimentsdescribed herein in which elements or functions may be deleted, executedout of order from that shown or discussed, including substantiallyconcurrently or in reverse order, depending on the functionalityinvolved, as would be understood by those skilled in the art.

It should be emphasized that many variations and modifications may bemade to the above-described embodiments, the elements of which are to beunderstood as being among other acceptable examples. All suchmodifications and variations are intended to be included herein withinthe scope of this disclosure. The foregoing description details certainembodiments of the invention. It will be appreciated, however, that nomatter how detailed the foregoing appears in text, the invention can bepracticed in many ways. As is also stated above, it should be noted thatthe use of particular terminology when describing certain features oraspects of the invention should not be taken to imply that theterminology is being re-defined herein to be restricted to including anyspecific characteristics of the features or aspects of the inventionwith which that terminology is associated.

What is claimed is:
 1. An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) analysis system,comprising: a computer data repository that stores flight operationinformation associated with a plurality of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)flight operations, said computer data repository comprising anon-transitory storage device; and a computing system comprising one ormore computing devices, said computing system programmed to implement:an analysis engine, the analysis engine configured to: receive a requestto generate a risk assessment report that describes risk associated witha first plurality of UAV flight operation aspects; access historicalflight information from the computer data repository; determine, basedat least in part the accessed historical flight operation information,performance characteristics for the first plurality of UAV flightoperation aspects, wherein the performance characteristics related toUAV flight operation safety or UAV mission performance; determine, usingthe performance characteristics, risk assessments for each of the afirst plurality of UAV flight operation aspects; and generate the riskassessment report using the determined risk assessments.
 2. The systemof claim 1, wherein flight operation information stored in the computerdata repository and associated with a particular UAV flight operationincludes information describing: one or human operators associated withthe particular UAV flight operation, configuration information for a UAVassociated with the particular UAV flight operation, operationalinformation describing the particular UAV flight operation, and missioninformation generated by components included in the UAV associated withthe particular flight operation.
 3. The system of claim 1, whereinflight operation information stored in the computer data repository andassociated with a particular UAV flight operation includes informationdescribing: one or human operators associated with the particular UAVflight operation, configuration information for a UAV associated withthe particular UAV flight operation, operational information describingthe particular UAV flight operation, and mission information generatedby components included in the UAV associated with the particular flightoperation; wherein a particular aspect identified in the request is aparticular UAV, and wherein the determination of performancecharacteristics for the particular UAV comprises: an identification of aUAV airframe type associated with the particular UAV; obtain, from theflight operation information, sensor information over a period of timefrom sensors included in the particular UAV; and a determination, usingthe UAV airframe type and sensor information, a vibration profile of theUAV over the period of time.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein thesystem is further configured to: receive a request to generate anauthorization request report associated with a particular UAV flightoperation, the request to generate an authorization request identifyingaspects of the particular UAV flight operation and a type ofauthorization request report; determine performance characteristicsassociated with the aspects; and generate, using the performancecharacteristics, the authorization request report according to the typeof authorization request report.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein thesystem is further configured to: receive a request to generate anauthorization request report associated with a particular UAV flightoperation, the request to generate an authorization request identifyingaspects of the particular UAV flight operation and a type ofauthorization request report; determine performance characteristicsassociated with the aspects; generate, using the performancecharacteristics, the authorization request report according to the typeof authorization request report; determine risk assessments associatedwith the aspects; and include information identifying the riskassessments in the authorization request report.
 6. A computerimplemented method comprising: maintaining in a data store, by acomputer system comprising hardware, flight operation informationassociated with a plurality of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) flightoperations; receiving, at the computer system, a request to generate arisk assessment report, the request including one or more aspects of aUAV flight operation, wherein the risk assessment report describes riskassociated with each aspect; analyzing flight operation informationaccessed from the data store; determining by the computer system, basedat least in part on the analysis of the flight operation information,performance characteristics for each aspect in the request, wherein theperformance characteristics include information that can inform, oraffect, a safe or functional UAV flight operation; determining by thecomputer system, using the performance characteristics, risk assessmentsfor each aspect in the request; and generating by the computer systemthe risk assessment report using the determined risk assessments.
 7. Themethod of claim 6, wherein flight operation information associated witha particular UAV flight operation includes information describing: oneor operators associated with the particular UAV flight operation,configuration information for a UAV associated with the particular UAVflight operation, operational information describing the particular UAVflight operation, and mission information generated by componentsincluded in the UAV associated with the particular flight operation. 8.The method of claim 6, wherein the request to generate a risk assessmentreport is for a particular UAV, and wherein determining performancecharacteristics for the particular UAV comprises: identifying a UAVairframe type associated with the particular UAV; obtaining, from theflight operation information, sensor information over a period of timefrom sensors included in the particular UAV; and determining, from theUAV airframe type and sensor information, a vibration profile of the UAVover the period of time.
 9. The method of claim 6, wherein a particularaspect identified in the request is a particular UAV, and whereindetermining performance characteristics for the particular UAVcomprises: identifying a UAV airframe type associated with theparticular UAV; obtaining, from the flight operation information, sensorinformation over a period of time from sensors included in theparticular UAV; determining, from the UAV airframe type and sensorinformation, a vibration profile of the UAV over the period of time;determining, from the vibration profile, one or more issues affectingsafety or performance of the particular UAV; and including informationidentifying the issues in the risk assessment report.
 10. The method ofclaim 6, wherein a particular aspect of the UAV flight operationincludes batteries associated with a particular UAV, and whereindetermining performance characteristics of the batteries comprises:obtaining, from the flight operation information, batterycharacteristics of the batteries over a period of time; obtaininginformation identifying central tendency characteristics of batteries ofa same, or similar, type; determining, from the battery characteristicsand average characteristics, an estimated health of the batteries. 11.The method of claim 6, further comprising: determining a probability offailure of the batteries; and including information identifying theprobability in the risk assessment report.
 12. The method of claim 6,wherein a particular aspect of the UAV flight operation is a particularoperator to provide instructions to the UAV during flight, and whereindetermining performance characteristics for the particular operatorcomprises one or more of: obtaining, from the flight operationinformation, information identifying one or more UAV flight operationsassociated with an error or failure; obtaining, from the flightoperation information, one or more types of licenses associated with theparticular operator; obtaining, from the flight operation information, anumber of UAV flight hours associated with the particular operator;obtaining, from the flight operation information, a number of pilotproficiency events; and/or determining, from the flight operation, oneor more breach of flight authorizations associated with UAV flightoperations associated with the particular operator.
 13. The method ofclaim 6, wherein a particular aspect of the UAV flight operation is aparticular operator to provide instructions to the UAV during flight,and wherein determining performance characteristics for the particularoperator comprises one or more of: obtaining, from the flight operationinformation, information identifying one or more UAV flight operationsassociated with an error or failure; obtaining, from the flightoperation information, one or more types of licenses associated with theparticular operator; obtaining, from the flight operation information, anumber of UAV flight hours associated with the particular operator;obtaining, from the flight operation information, a number of pilotproficiency events; and/or determining, from the flight operation, oneor more breach of flight authorizations associated with UAV flightoperations associated with the particular operator; wherein determiningrisk assessments for the particular operator comprises: determining,from the performance characteristics, a number of UAV flight operationsassociated with an error or failure, which can be attributed to theparticular operator.
 14. The method of claim 6, further comprising:receiving a request to generate an authorization request reportassociated with a particular UAV flight operation, the requestidentifying aspects of the particular UAV flight operation and a type ofauthorization request report; determining performance characteristicsassociated with the aspects; and generating, using the performancecharacteristics, the authorization request report according to the typeof authorization request report.
 15. The method of claim 14, furthercomprising: receiving a request to generate an authorization requestreport associated with a particular UAV flight operation, the requestidentifying aspects of the particular UAV flight operation and a type ofauthorization request report; determining performance characteristicsassociated with the aspects; and determining risk assessments associatedwith the aspects; and generating, using the performance characteristics,the authorization request report according to the type of authorizationrequest report, including information identifying the risk assessmentsin the authorization request report.
 16. A computer program productencoded on one or more non-transitory computer storage media, comprisinginstructions that when executed by the one or more computers cause theone or more computers to perform operations comprising: maintainingflight operation information associated with a plurality of UnmannedAerial Vehicle (UAV) flight operations; receiving a request to generatea risk assessment report, the request including one or more aspects of aUAV flight operation, wherein the risk assessment report describes riskassociated with each aspect; analyzing flight operation informationaccessed from the data store; determining, based at least in part on theanalysis of the flight operation information, performancecharacteristics for each aspect in the request, wherein the performancecharacteristics include information that can inform, or affect, a safeor functional UAV flight operation; determining, using the performancecharacteristics, risk assessments for each aspect in the request; andgenerating the risk assessment using the determined risk assessments.17. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein flight operationinformation associated with a particular UAV flight operation includesinformation describing: one or operators associated with the particularUAV flight operation, configuration information for a UAV associatedwith the particular UAV flight operation, operational informationdescribing the particular UAV flight operation, and mission informationgenerated by components included in the UAV associated with theparticular flight operation.
 18. The computer program product of claim16, wherein a particular aspect of the UAV flight operation is aparticular UAV, and wherein determining performance characteristics forthe particular UAV comprises: identifying a UAV airframe type associatedwith the particular UAV; obtaining, from the flight operationinformation, sensor information over a period of time from sensorsincluded in the particular UAV; and determining, from the UAV airframetype and sensor information, a vibration profile of the UAV over theperiod of time.
 19. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein aparticular aspect of the UAV flight operation is a particular UAV, andwherein determining performance characteristics for the particular UAVcomprises: identifying a UAV airframe type associated with theparticular UAV; obtaining, from the flight operation information, sensorinformation over a period of time from sensors included in theparticular UAV; and determining, from the UAV airframe type and sensorinformation, a vibration profile of the UAV over the period of time;determining, from the vibration profile, one or more issues affectingsafety or performance of the particular UAV; and including informationidentifying the issues in the risk assessment report.
 20. The computerprogram product of claim 16, wherein a particular aspect of the UAVflight operation includes batteries associated with a particular UAV,and wherein determining performance characteristics of the batteriescomprises: obtaining, from the flight operation information, batterycharacteristics of the batteries over a period of time; obtaininginformation identifying average characteristics of batteries of a same,or similar, type; determining, from the battery characteristics andcentral tendency characteristics, an estimated health of the batteries.21. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the operationsfurther comprise: determining a probability of failure of the batteries;and including information identifying the probability in the riskassessment report.
 22. The computer program product of claim 16, whereina particular aspect of the UAV flight operation is a particular operatorto provide instructions to the UAV during flight, and whereindetermining performance characteristics for the particular operatorcomprises one or more of: obtaining, from the flight operationinformation, information identifying one or more UAV flight operationsassociated with an error or failure; obtaining, from the flightoperation information, one or more types of licenses associated with theparticular operator; obtaining, from the flight operation information, anumber of UAV flight hours associated with the particular operator;obtaining, from the flight operation information, a number of pilotproficiency events; and/or determining, from the flight operation, oneor more breach of flight authorizations associated with UAV flightoperations associated with the particular operator.
 23. The computerprogram product of claim 16, wherein a particular aspect of the UAVflight operation is a particular operator to provide instructions to theUAV during flight, and wherein determining performance characteristicsfor the particular operator comprises one or more of: obtaining, fromthe flight operation information, information identifying one or moreUAV flight operations associated with an error or failure; obtaining,from the flight operation information, one or more types of licensesassociated with the particular operator; obtaining, from the flightoperation information, a number of UAV flight hours associated with theparticular operator; obtaining, from the flight operation information, anumber of pilot proficiency events; and/or determining, from the flightoperation, one or more breach of flight authorizations associated withUAV flight operations associated with the particular operator; whereindetermining risk assessments for the particular operator comprises:determining, from the performance characteristics, a number of UAVflight operations associated with an error or failure, which can beattributed to the particular operator.
 24. The computer program productof claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise: receiving arequest to generate an authorization request report associated with aparticular UAV flight operation, the request identifying aspects of theparticular UAV flight operation and a type of authorization requestreport; determining performance characteristics associated with theaspects; and generating, using the performance characteristics, theauthorization request report according to the type of authorizationrequest report.
 25. The computer program product of claim 16, whereinthe operations further comprise: receiving a request to generate anauthorization request report associated with a particular UAV flightoperation, the request identifying aspects of the particular UAV flightoperation and a type of authorization request report; determiningperformance characteristics associated with the aspects; and determiningrisk assessments associated with the aspects; and generating, using theperformance characteristics, the authorization request report accordingto the type of authorization request report, including informationidentifying the risk assessments in the authorization request report.